Morning name: succinic acid

Succinic acid (… IUPAC systematic name: butanedioic acid; historically known as spirit of amber) … The name derives from Latin succinum, meaning amber, from which the acid may be obtained. … Spirit of amber was originally obtained from amber by pulverising and distilling it using a sand bath [now there are ways to synthesize the stuff]

… Succinic acid is used in the food and beverage industry, primarily as an acidity regulator. … It is also sold as a food additive and dietary supplement, and is generally recognized as safe for those uses by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

A 11/11/14 posting here looks at amber (ultimately from trees), at ambergris (from whales), and at the liquidambar (or sweetgum) tree.

Amber is fossilized tree resin (not sap), which has been appreciated for its color and natural beauty since Neolithic times. Much valued from antiquity to the present as a gemstone, amber is made into a variety of decorative objects. Amber is used as an ingredient in perfumes, as a healing agent in folk medicine, and as jewelry.

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The third in the series of dicarboxylic acids, long chains with carboxyl (-COOH) groups at each end and a chain of methylene groups (CH2) in the middle. Oxalic, malonic, succinic, glutaric, adipic, pimelic, suberic, azelaic, sebacic.

How do I happen to remember that? In 1957 my organic chemistry prof (Harvard’s Louis Fieser, himself) taught us the mnemonic “oh my, such good apple pie, serve a slice!”

(Have you noticed that in the dismal world of health care, that the word is universally misspelled as the curious portmanteau “neumonic”?)

About “neumonic” for “mnemonic”: apparently this is common enough that when you google on “neumonic”, the search switches to “mnemonic”. And there are sites for “nursing neumonics” that supply information about mnemonics.